


The Collaboration

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Humor, Inspired by Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 15:04:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2072757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“OK, see #1, I love you a lot for saying that with a straight face.  #2, I almost knew what you were talking about.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Collaboration

**Author's Note:**

> This is entirely inspired by Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj dropping the ***Flawless remix out of nowhere last night. And for a change it wasn’t written at 2 a.m. on Ambien.

Erin thought it was much too late for her phone to be ringing as she grabbed it off the nightstand. Her heart jumped a little when she saw it was her son. Dave, who was typing in bed, noticed a change in her even without looking up.

“Ted?” she picked up the phone. “Teddy, is everything alright?”

“Hey Mom, I'm good. Sorry to be calling so late but this is huge.”

“What is it?” Erin calmed just a little but not completely. His voice sounded normal, even a little excited so it probably wasn’t bad news. Still, she was a mother and her kid’s version of good news might be something that sent her on a worry spiral.

“Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj just dropped a _***Flawless_ remix out of nowhere.”

“What?” she sat up some in bed.

“I was here at Claudia’s minding my business, goofing around online, and literally the world just exploded. There were rumors, whispers about a collabo for weeks, but no one knew it would be tonight. Most people figured it was just another fantasy to fill magazine pages. Oh, and Beyoncé actually mentions the elevator thing.”

“Shut up! Seriously?”

That made Dave look up from his laptop. His wife was sitting up in bed with a happy, animated look on her face. She was always happy when she talked to Ted but this seemed to be a different kind of bliss. Imagining the animation on Ted’s face too made him smile. They were practically twins so being in the same room together with the same faces was a real experience.

“Are you going to send me the link?” Erin asked. “I'm still really bad with finding some things online.”

“I already sent it. They’re sure the _Vibe_ site is gonna crash tonight so I recommend listening to it immediately. It'll probably be available on iTunes like tomorrow but who wants to be out of the loop that long.”

“I don’t.” Erin shook her head. “Wait, I've never heard Nicki Minaj rap before. Is she explicit?”

“That’s an understatement. I actually blushed just thinking about you listening to it. But you know what Mom, its time. It’s time for you to hear Nicki and be empowered through your body and your flawlessness.”

“Now I'm a little scared.” Erin laughed.

“You're gonna love it!” Ted exclaimed, laughing too. “Don’t be scared, just jump right in. I gotta go OK? I love you to pieces; give Dave all my love too.”

“I love you too, Teddy. Call me soon.”

“Will do, mama.”

“Oh, where did you send the link sweetie?”

“I put it on your Twitter page.” Ted replied. “Love you Mom. Bye.”

“Bye bye.”

Erin hung up her cell phone. She looked at her husband and he was looking at her. The look on his face was hard to make out but she could see the whimsy in his eyes. Some conversations with Ted could get lively. She knew her husband got a kick out of that.

“It’s after midnight but it wasn’t bad news.” Dave said.

“Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj just dropped a _***Flawless_ remix out of nowhere.” Erin answered.

“OK, see #1, I love you a lot for saying that with a straight face. #2, I almost knew what you were talking about.”

“You know who Beyoncé is, right?” Erin asked.

“Yes.” Dave nodded.

“Do you know who Nicki Minaj is?”

“Vaguely. She has pink hair and does the whole Barbie thing. I know things…I try to keep up. What for, I have no idea.”

“She's gone more natural recently and it’s a good look for her. Anyway, Ted sent me a link to the song on my Twitter account. It might not be up for long; if too many people hit the link it could crash the site.”

Dave saved his work in Microsoft Word, minimized the page, and opened Mozilla Firefox. Erin took the laptop from his lap and put it on her own. She loved him to pieces but had no intention of letting him see her Twitter username and password. There was trust in a relationship, which they had and there was giving someone the keys to your online life, which was just plain stupid.

“You're guarding that information quite nicely.” Dave said.

“It'll be in my will,” Erin replied. “You'll see it then.”

“Don’t even joke woman.”

She went to Twitter, which she had bookmarked on this laptop a while ago. Erin’s dash was active tonight…the Beyoncé news was spreading like wildfire. Since she followed people of all ages and all walks of life, it seemed to be the hottest thing going. It shut down nearly all talk of _Guardians of the Galaxy_ , which she was going to see tomorrow with Dave, Penelope, and probably Jack Hotchner. 

Erin quickly scrolled through all the talk and found her son’s post with the link. She checked the volume of the computer, turned it up, and then clicked on it. The page had pictures of both Nicki and Beyoncé. The timer line for the song was pink, of course, and even though it was moving there was no sound.

“I don’t hear anything.” Dave said.

“Me neither.” Erin moved the timer back to the beginning but nothing changed. “Oh damn, I think we might be experiencing technical difficulty.”

“Close out and then go back in.” 

“Really?” Erin looked at him. “That’s your answer.”

“If I'm right then you pay for tomorrow’s movie adventure. If I'm wrong, then I pay.”

“You are so damn competitive.” She smiled.

“Mmm hmm, you love it.” Dave moved his face close to hers.

“Most of the time, I do.” Erin kissed him. Then she closed the site and hit the link again. The pictures and the timer came up, just like the first time. She hit play and this time they could hear the music begin. “I'm so excited.”

“I can see. This Beyoncé thing…it’s a powerful thing.”

 _It stay Yoncé, oh Yoncé in that lingerie  
On that chardonnay, it’s gonna touch down like a runway  
I’m Texas forever like Bun B, and I’m redboned yo  
I’m really rit like Donjae, I’m camo in here yo  
These thots can’t clock me nowadays  
You wish I was your pound cake_

Dave just watched his wife as she listened to the song. He didn’t know what most of it was talking about but soon they got to the part he was familiar with. _I woke up like this...I look so good tonight_. He remembered the first time Erin belted out those lyrics in a black corset and those ridiculous bear paw slippers. There were a million moments he could reference in his mind when he thought of his wife being sexy. 

The first time he saw her dance to _***Flawless_ , in her own world and not thinking about him at all, being sexy for herself…definitely in his top 3. Dave found himself nearly blushing through Nicki Minaj’s rap, Erin looked slightly uncomfortable as well, but when it was over she insisted on listening to the song more time to commit it to memory. The second time was like he wasn’t even in the room and Dave was OK with that. Having this moment was important to her; he was content to sit back and observe. Then she took to Twitter to express her thoughts.

_August 3, 2014 1:30am_

I should be in bed but @Beyoncé has me up and excited. #flawlessremix

_August 3, 2014 1:30am_

Thanks, @tedtimeistobestrictlyobserved for giving me the link. #Iwokeuplikethis

_August 3, 2014 1:32am_

Just introduced #TheHusband to the power of Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj. He didn’t know, and now he is a changed man.

_August 3, 2014 1:33am_

This song is my new everything song. Jogging, yoga, dog walking, everything. I’ll listen to it before I walk into every meeting. #flawless

“Ursula just sent me a reply.” Erin said laughing. “She asked me what am I doing up at this hour.”

“You could ask her the same thing.” Dave said.

She tweeted a few more times and then handed the laptop back to her husband. It was getting late but tomorrow was Sunday. When Dave was in town that was their lazy day. The movie didn’t start until four and they'd probably go out for a casual dinner afterwards. The rest of her day was free. Why not stay up a little late and hang out? Erin was middle-aged, she wasn’t dead.

“You don’t mind if I stay up and write a little more, do you?” Dave asked, settling back on his pillows.

“Nope.” She shook her head as she climbed out of the bed. “I'm going to the bathroom, take a little Ambien, and get some sleep. I have to come down from that trip.”

“You're so fuckin adorable. Do I tell you that enough; I should say it every day?”

“You'll spoil me.” Erin leaned down to kiss him.

“And I'm perfectly OK with that.”

She smiled, walking into the bathroom singing under her breath. _I look so good tonight_ …

***


End file.
